Home Advantage
by Tina-bell-21
Summary: **Undergoing Rewrite!** Thanks to all for continued support and reviews, will be back sometime in the near future! PM for more info if desired! :) **** After years away from Woodland Park, Colorado, Erin Strauss returns to her home town to work on a case with the BAU. Plenty of Strauss/Rossi in later chapters for fellow shippers, but general appearences from the whole team!
1. Chapter 1

_**Good Afternoon One and All! New fic time. This one has been niggling at the back of my mind for some time now and I've finally gotten into it. **_

_**To briefly summarise, I had this idea a while ago, and whilst I do still see Erin Strauss growing up in a city like New York, I thought to myself, what if she was small town? and then this fic kinda happened. The first chapter is a little slow I will admit, but I just needed an introduction, for want of a better phrase, but I implore all you lovely readers to stick with it! Its gonna get fun! **_

_**And for all you Strauss/Rossi shippers out there...stay tuned for fluff alert in later chapters! **_

_**So...let's go find out what happens when the BAU collides with a small town and the family Strauss!**_

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Home Advantage: Chapter One

The Case. 

Erin tapped her pen relentlessly on the desk, a nervous action that she could never seem to control no matter how much she wanted to. 8.30 am and already she was on edge. That could not be a good sign, the day had barely started and yet she knew it wasn't going to get much better. In fact it had the potential to get significantly worse.

"I'm not making any promises Rob. Yes I have the file right here and yes I've read it! What? Of course I've read it! Why would I say that I'd read it if I hadn't read it! Jesus give me some goddamn credit!"

She sighed, raising a hand to her temple, her fingertips making a vain attempt to quell the throbbing headache that threatened. It had threatened for twelve hours, since she'd gotten the first phone call. This one wasn't making matters any easier.

"I can't make you any promises until I've spoken to whichever unit chief I give the case to! They'll decide whether or not its a viable case Rob, we can't just fly out to anywhere and set up camp it has to be validated and justified and costed in!"

Erin's attention was distracted briefly as she registered the knock on her office door. She called out a 'come in' without breaking stride from her phone conversation.

"You call me a bureaucrat one more time Robert and you can forget getting any help from me!"

Aaron Hotchner raised one eyebrow as he stepped into his boss's office, he didn't appreciate being summoned here anyway, he certainly didn't harbour any desire to bear witness to whatever debate the Section Chief was currently involved in.

Erin cut him a look and Aaron straightened up, his expression returning to one of indifference. He knew that look very well, it was the 'do not mess with me' look, and Hotch had no intention of doing just that. True every once in a while he would test the boundaries, every time he'd been shot down within seconds. Today he was not about to push her.

"Robert, I told you I would look into it, I will do what I can, you know that I will. Right now I have to go I'm about to present your case. I'll call you when I know anything."

At the mention of a case Hotch had tuned in completely, he was beginning to see why he'd been unceremoniously summoned to her majesty's lair this morning. If it was a case then he could relax, for a brief moment he had considered that he was being brought here for an ass kicking or a new budget outline. He wasn't in the mood for that crap, he rarely was, he just dealt with it. Exceptionally well in fact, but whilst his team might believe he relished the protocol and paperwork, Aaron preferred being out in the field.

"Ma'am?" Aaron narrowed his eyes, taking a step forward.

Erin removed her glasses and sighed again. Her fifth this morning and handed the Unit Chief a file.

"This case came directly to me, the Director signed off on it providing your team are satisfied that there is in fact a case to investigate."

"Directly to you, Ma'am?" Hotch held her gaze for a long moment as Erin appeared to be mentally arguing with herself as she sat in her desk chair, eventually deciding to just be honest.

"I have a personal connection to the Woodland Park Police Department, Agent Hotchner. They have asked for my help and I told them I would do what I can, I made no promises."

"You don't sound convinced Ma'am." Hotch saw no reason to question her personal connection to the case, he knew from experience that with Chief Strauss, knowledge was on a strictly need to know basis, especially if that knowledge had a bearing upon her personal life.

"I'm not. But then I'm not a profiler. I believe there is a case that much is obvious, my concern is that the local PD can handle it. I'm not about to waste valuable resources Agent Hotchner."

"No Ma'am." Hotch replied stoically as always, his eyes were already scanning the pages of the file, his brow furrowed in concentration. "The locals obviously don't believe they have a handle on it or they wouldn't have asked for our help."

"Touche." Erin conceded with a slight nod. "So what do you think?"

"I think that Woodland Park Colorado has a serial killer and they need our help."

She sighed again and Aaron narrowed his eyes in response. Erin should have known better than to act like this in front of him. The profiler could tell she was anxious, she employed a forced detachment that he couldn't quite work out the source of.

In truth Erin did have mixed feelings about this whole thing. On the one hand she couldn't have denied that she wanted to help The Woodland Park PD, even if it was for personal reasons. Those personal reasons were what was holding her back. This case could reopen parts of her life that she wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to revisist. It wasn't that they were bad times, time was just a funny thing, too much of it had gone by and Erin had no idea how that would have changed her, changed what she used to know so well.

"Then we had better gather the team Agent Hotchner." Erin sighed again, catching herself she realised she was going to have to stop that, not only was it telling, it was irritating, even to her.

"We? Ma'am?"

"Yes we." Erin got to her feet and picked up her cell from the desk. "If you're going to Woodland Park then I'm coming with you."

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"Two girls, aged 22 and 25, found strangled and beaten in Pike National Forest, just outside of Woodland Park, Colorado."

Hotch passed out the files, glancing to Garcia as she controlled the tv monitor's bringing up the images that made the Section Chief's stomach turn.

David noticed Erin flinch from his position seated across the table from her, he sat back in his chair, a sly smile tugging at his lips. "Woodland Park, sounds familiar."

He knew what reaction he would get, he knew full well why it sounded familiar to him. But damn he just liked to tease her.

"David." Erin cut him a look, and to his credit he backed down, for now, both of them returning their attention to Hotch. She knew she'd have to come clean sooner or later but right now was not the time. She would tell them on the jet...probably.

"The locals made extensive enquiries but so far they've came up blank. Both girls went missing at least two weeks before they were found, although the timing isn't confirmed yet, no sign of sexual assault. Medical Examiner's report indicated both were strangled by hand but the beatings were consistent with differing methods."

"Sounds straight forward to me." Morgan shrugged. "Classic unsub, thrives off the power, he obviously feels weak and unnoticed in his ordinary life and now he wants the world to know who he is."

"I agree. Local PD are concerned by the prolonged time between abduction and the kill. The town is in the middle of a massive national park. The Chief liased with other PD's from surrounding towns and came up with a possible 27 more missing girls that fit the victim type."

Until that point the general feeling had been that the team could deliver a profile without leaving this room. They all knew the implications here, a small town area with the possibility of widespread panic, it was a dangerous scenario for all concerned.

"Then I guess we're going to Woodland Park Colorado." JJ voiced what everyone else had been thinking, her gaze moving from Hotch to land on Chief Strauss.

Agent Jareau hadn't been a full time profiler for very long, but she didn't have to be. She'd been around Erin Strauss for long enough to know the woman's tells. The section Chief may have liked to believe she was in control, an unpentratable stone wall, but this team knew her very well. Something was bugging her.

"I'll be coming with you." Erin didn't look up from her file as she spoke. "I requested to join the team if you accepted this case. The Director also cleared Ms Garcia to come too."

"Me? Why?" Penelope looked between Hotch and Erin, resembling a deer in the headlights for a moment.

"Because Woodland Park is like a black hole. They get internet sure but its practically stoneage, they'll need your abilities on site."

Garcia remained stood there, like everyone else in the room she was shocked to hear the Section Chief refer to internet as stoneage...half of them had been sure that she didn't even know what internet was she was so old school.

"You should know."

Erin raised her eyes to David, his words continued to irk her, he looked so smug as he sat opposite her, watching her unblinking with that smile on his face. Part of her hated that smile, sometimes she wanted to just wipe it right from his face. Other times it made her weak at the knees, but she only allowed that to happen outside of work hours.

They'd had a thing together for some time now. They hadn't defined it, it was just there from time to time. It was casual, no commitments, no attachments. But they prided themselves on maintaining a playfull hatred of each other inside the bureau, nobody could see through the cutting remarks and icy looks to what was really going on.

"Woodland Park is your home town right Strauss?"

The silence resonated for the second time in only the last few minutes.

Everything began to make sense to Aaron as he stood at the head of the table, his eyes trained on his boss. In his mind he was already conducting the risk assessment, questioning the Section Chief's objectivity in this case. For now he would give her the benefit of the doubt, if nothing else her knowledge of the area could prove beneficial in some way.

"Wheels up in an hour." Hotch spoke to the room, diffusing the atmosphere instantly.

Still Erin remained where she sat, she didn't feel the need to respond to David's words, the team would find out eventually, still her gaze was fixed on Rossi as he too remained seated.

"Couldn't help yourself could you Dave?" Erin shook her head slowly, watching as his smile widened to an even more insufferable level.

"Where would be the fun in that?" Dave winked teasingly at her as he finally got to his feet. "See you on the jet, Strauss!"

Erin took a deep breath and picked up her cell. She waited until she was alone on the corridor back in the direction of her office before she made the call. She was only just holding it all together today. A part of her life that she had closed off was about to be invaded by her colleagues, and she still wasn't sure how she felt about that.

But if the BAU was going to rip through her home town, learn things about their leader that she never wanted them to know, then she was damn sure she was going to be there when they did. No way in hell was she going to let it all happen behind her back.

There were two sides to every story afterall. She needed to be able to tell her's.

Erin reminded herself for the third time today that this wasn't about her, not really, it was about two dead girls and a serial killer. She had to focus on helping the team to put a stop to it. If she didn't then she knew for sure that she would face the wrath of someone far more scary than the Director himself.

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_**Drop a review if you have the time, I really do love to know what you think. Part 2 To follow in the next couple of days! **_


	2. Chapter 2: The Jet

_**Firstly, a massive thank you to all who have read this and left a review, they mean the world to me.**_

_**This next chapter is mainly a filler chapter, and its been a right pain to write! In fact its gone through five re-writes! I'm still not happy with it but hey, its done now. **_

_**I realise this is a little, borderline AU, some of the dialogue for instance especially in this one I'm not quite sure is sitting right, especially Hotch.**_

_**I will try to keep all of the characters as true to themselves as I can, however sometimes it may waver to fit the story a little, call it creative license, just to warn you! **_

_**Anyway enough from me, here it is, I do hope it makes sense to all you lovely people, just pop a review at the end and let me know what you think! **_

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She was distracted, wasn't really paying attention to Reid or Morgan as they bounced around a possible profile.

It was useless anyway, their unsub had no descernable time frame, miles of hunting ground and a signature that left far too much room for interpretation. What had initially seemed quite straight forward to Morgan was beginning to unravel the more he looked at it. At least if this guy had stuck to a pattern they could at least have him profiled to the letter, but no, they were stuck at square one until they landed in Colorado.

The jet was unusually quiet, even with Garcia onboard. The atmosphere was just too tense with Strauss along for the ride. None of them could shake the idea that she was here for an evaluation, just an excuse to spy on them, no matter how much she argued that she wasn't. It was almost as if the whole team were a group of kids, suddenly on their best behaviour because Mommy was watching them.

Except she wasn't.

Erin's gaze was fixed on the small window to her left, something about the clouds around them helped her relax. In truth she was almost as tense as the atmopshere.

She shouldn't be this edgy, it wasn't as if she was headed for someplace completely unfamiliar, she was going home.

Home.

Maybe that was the problem. It didn't feel like home anymore. Sometimes she wondered if it ever really had. Even when she was just a child, Erin had always known that she wanted more. Life in Woodland Park just seemed so...provincial. She wanted the power career, and she wasn't afraid to do everything it took to get there.

There were times, just a few of them, when Erin would allow her mind to consider everything she had walked away from, everything she had sacrificed just for her career, and she questioned whether or not it was worth it.

Her career was everything to her, she'd worked damn hard to get where she was today, and she was good at what she did. But she also couldn't help but wonder sometimes, if she'd stayed in Colorado, settled for a simpler life, would she have encountered all of the same problems that had plagued her? Would she have a better relationship with her children for one thing? Would she have become an alcoholic?

Her parents still didn't know about that. Erin had no intention of telling them either.

Her parents. She hadn't seen them in over a year, and she knew that was wrong. During her inpatient treatment in rehab she'd begun to see things a little differently. For the first time since the births of her babies, Erin had actually wanted her Mom. She wanted her Mom to hug her tight and tell her that everything was going to be alright. On more than one occassion she'd almost called her parents, but something stopped her everytime. That niggling fear in the back of her mind that her parents would be disappointed in her. After all the missed holidays, the birthday cards in the mail instead of hand delivered, the few short days visit every couple of years, disappointment was not an option. When the guilt threatened to overwhelm her, sometimes all that Erin had left to cling to was the fact that her family was at least proud of her.

A tiny part of her was excited to be going back to Colorado, there were aspects of the place that she had missed, even if they were few and far between. But on the whole she was scared, everything could have changed and she'd be left behind. How would her parents take to her return? This whole damn case could open the can of worms. Not to mention the proverbial closet, Lord knows how many skeletons might tumble out.

He'd been watching her from the moment she sat down. Of course he tried not to make it obvious, he was afterall, sitting amongst a group of profilers, but she did make it easy for him by opting to sit opposite from him.

David was concerned. He'd never known her be this quiet before, especially when she was, technically, agent in charge. No matter how many times she had attempted to make it clear to them that she was here simply to assisst the team, and liase with the local offices.

Something about this whole thing was bugging her. Dave could see it just by looking at her. Her expression was blank, her eyes were glazed and unblinking, she kept twisting her necklace through her fingers, occasionally gripping it so tight her knuckles would go white.

He tried to figure it out, he'd already spent years profiling her. The past two years he'd gotten closer to her than most people would ever believe. Still there was much he didn't know about the woman he frequently shared a bed with. Erin kept so much of herself closed off. It wasn't in her nature to just open up and let it all out. She didn't like people knowing things about her, it made her feel vulnerable, like any piece of information was knowledge that could be used against her.

His efforts to chip away at that icy exterior were slowly becoming more rewarding. Sometimes she'd give away information without even realising it, especially where her body language was concerned. That was something that could never lie to David. Of course when she realised to late that she was allowing him too far in, that was when Strauss made her appearence, defensive, yet very much in control.

She wasn't in control right now. She was fighting for it but it wasn't quite getting there.

David narrowed his eyes as he watched her sigh, the prolonged exhale of breath made him question her emotions. She was trying to keep them intact, and doing a good job of it so far.

After what seemed like hours she finally tore her eyes away from the window and they met his for a moment.

Erin knew he was watching her, she could feel it, she was used to it. She wanted to glare at him, give him the Strauss look, just enough to tell him to back off.

In reality it wasn't even necessary, when she turned to look at him, he half smiled, and her resolve drifted away. The look in his eye was enough, he was there, he was watching, but he wasn't going to push her. Erin needed space and that was exactly what he would give her. The last thing he wanted to do was suffocate her...he'd endure the deadly consequence for sure.

Hotch cleared his throat as he sat beside the section chief. He needed to ask the question before they landed, it was in the interest of the case. Though he wished it was anyone else in his position right now through fear of an inevitable backlash from his boss.

Erin focused her concentration as she twisted in her seat, affording the whole team her attention.

"Ma'am, we know that Woodland Park is your home town, but you mentioned a personal connection to the police department. Purely in the interest of the case, and objectivity, we would like to know what that personal connection is, exactly?"

Hotch battled to hold her eyes, she was doing that thing that always put him on edge. She'd look right through him, as if seeing deep into his soul and he had to remind himself that he was the profiler, not her.

Erin looked from Hotch to the others, none of them were looking directly at her and yet they were listening with ever ounce of intensity. Folding her arms across her chest, she rolled her eyes in true Strauss fashion and sighed.

"The chief of police in Woodland Park is my cousin. He asked for my help and I gave the case to Agent Hotchner for review. For the record I pulled no strings I did not force Agent Hotchner to take on the case. I simply requested to be assigned to the team in the field. End of story."

She saw no reason to divulge anything further. Mainly because she had no idea why she wanted to come along at all. It would be so much easier to sit in her office behind the safety of the desk and just let the team do their thing. Maybe on some unconscious level Chief Strauss wanted to show off, show that small town just what she had become, what she had achieved. Erin just wanted to see her family. Regardless of how little time she'd spent with them over the years, she loved them, all of them, and would defend them to the end.

It was one thing for her to bad mouth her family, it was an entirely different thing when someone else did it.

Nevertheless it was only a matter of time until her two worlds collided. The BAU would all too soon be in the Strauss territory, the family matriarch would certainly not be able to keep her nose out of this, that much Erin knew for sure.

The awkward silence was back again. She knew they were questioning her, questioning her objectivity. Damn it she was questioning it herself.

David sighed and cleared his throat, he knew this would not be the last time he'd have to diffuse the situation over the next few days.

"Doesn't matter why you're here Strauss, fact is you are, and if you can provide us with insider knowledge on the area then all the better for it."

"I agree." Hotch started, "it will certainly make a few things a little easier. However I am sure that I don't need to impress upon you Ma'am, the importance of remaining impartial."

"Of course not." Erin replied with a small nod. She was not about to make any promises, when it came down to it she knew herself. She knew that it would be damn near impossible to remain impartial in every aspect of this case, but she would do her best to be. Or at least do her best to hide it.

Twenty minutes to landing and the nerves were setting in again. Whatever her mixed feelings were doing to her mind it was going to have wait. She needed to get it together, it was now or never. There was no way it could be as bad as she thought it could be. Maybe her subconscious was simply preparing for the worst.

Just what was it that she was so scared of?

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_**Drop a comment...go on! please :) **_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hey peeps! Time for an update. Firstly though a slight apology for the slow posting, work has been manic of late but as of now I am off for 2 whole weeks! Writing here I come! **_

_**Secondly a huge thank you again for reading, and reviewing, it is very much apreciated.**_

_**A/N I hope you enjoy this next chapter, it was very hard to write due to the characterisation of my OC's, and fitting them into the story, but here goes nothing! I'm trying not to overload you guys all at once! **_

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"Are you alright?"

David allowed his eyes to waver from the road for a brief second to look at her. She'd been staring out of the window since they got into the SUV at the air strip, her expression gave nothing away.

All the way along the winding roads towards the town the car had been silent. Even Reid didn't say a thing, JJ was quiet as she sat beside him in the back seat.

Erin was sure she could hear her rapid heartbeat, pounding so hard it made her chest hurt.

"I'm fine! Why shouldn't I be?"

Her snappy response made Dave raise his eyebrows, his attention once again fixed on the road ahead, they were just crossing into the town's borders, her mood was getting more erratic the closer they got though he could tell she was trying to control it.

No wonder the car was silent. Erin had been like this since the moment the plane landed. David had suggested she drive, she obviously knew better the directions. Her response was a glare and spat out retort of the words, _"Its one straight got damn road David even you couldn't get lost!", _and then climbed into the passenger side, slamming the door behind her.

"You seem tense is all." Surely David should have stopped before now, but he never seemed to get the hint with her. For some reason he always pushed his boundaries.

"Don't David. Just don't." She was calm when she said it, but she didn't look at him.

Once again her gaze returned to the window. She knew this road like the back of her hand. Countless nights had been spent driving this route back from some party in another town that she'd snuck out to go to with her friends. It had also been her escape from a suffocating life she'd left behind.

It looked exactly the same. Even the trees were exactly the same. Everything was so familiar that it freaked her out. Like she'd been keeping it locked in her subconscious and it shocked her to remember it.

Just ahead of them she could see the other SUV pull up in front of the police department, Hotch was already getting out of the car.

It felt as if she wasn't really there. Like one of those really vivid dreams that you couldn't tell was real or fake when you woke up. Or at least as if she was just looking in on something that she shouldn't be. Coming home felt strange, instead of feeling safe and secure, Erin felt awkward and just out of place.

David stopped the car a little behind the other one, he risked one last glance to the woman beside him. He could tell she was reaching deep down and pulling out the Strauss persona. She wasn't going to show any weakness, not here.

JJ and Reid were already out of the car, she could see them on the steps of the building she knew very well. Not that she would tell the others but she'd been on the wrong side of that building a few times as a teenager aswell.

The chief of police was greeting them like any other visitor. To the BAU he was just another small town cop way out of his depth. To Erin he was the kid who helped her over a fence when she skipped school, covered for her when her parents wanted to ground her. He wasn't just her cousin he was practically her brother, her best friend, or at least he used to be.

"Erin, come on seriously what's bugging you?"

It was only now that she realised David was still beside her. Sighing deeply she gave him a trademark Strauss look. It dissolved almost instantly. The Strauss glare only had about a ten percent success rate on David Rossi. Sometimes she even suspected that he just pretended to let it silence him.

"I'm fine David."

"If you say so. Forgive me if I don't believe you."

"What do you want me to say David!"

"The truth would be nice but I know you Erin you won't tell the truth until you're forced to and I'm not in the mood. But if you need to talk, rant or vent, I can keep a secret, you know I'm good at it."

Despite herself she smiled a little, quickly regaining herself as she took a deep breath. "Whatever Robert tells you David, whatever anybody tells you about me...do not believe them!"

This time the glare did work, he knew she was deadly serious, consequences would be felt.

"Scout's honour! I tend not to judge women by what other people say...especially you babe!"

"David! I may allow you a little bit too close to me from time to time but this is work, therefore...none of that!"

"I repeat...scout's honour! Now I think its time we got out of this car or people will talk."

Erin glanced to the group of profilers and cops standing about fifty feet from them. "They're already talking."

"Erin Strauss, as I live and breathe." Robert Hudson, chief of police, stood on the steps of the police department, arms folded across his chest and an eyebrow raised.

A little taller than Erin, Robert was lean and quite handsome, his hair was a light brown and thinning ever so slightly. Just from his demeanor it was obvious he didn't run his team like Erin ran her's. He was much more relaxed, he earned his respect through compassion and humor, though he could come down with a firm hand when he needed to, he very rarely needed to shout to get the job done.

Aside from David Rossi, none of the team had ever seen anyone smirk at the Section Chief like that. Usually that look earned the daring individual a months desk duty.

"Give it a rest little Robbie, remember I can kick your ass!"

Erin paid little mind to the look of horror on JJ and Penelope's expressions as she walked past them. Maybe allowing her section chief mask to slip momentarily wouldn't be such a bad thing. Regardless of the onlookers Erin pulled her cousin into a hug, and for just a moment she forgot herself.

"Thank you for coming Erin."

"Like I'm gonna let you loose on my team without keeping an eye on you."

For the first time in their working relationship none of the team knew what to make of this side of the section chief. Some of them wanted to smile though they didn't dare, this could be a trap.

Hotch cleared his throat and Erin instantly went back into Strauss mode. "Now that the introductions are through, we have work to do."

"Sure." Chief Hudson turned serious all of a sudden and David narrowed his eyes, perhaps that was a family trait, being able to switch personas in an instant. "The latest crime scene has just finished being processed, Erin mentioned you'd probably wanna take a look at it so my deputy can take you over there."

"I'll head over there with JJ and Morgan." Hotch nodded once as Deputy Chief Adam Davenport motioned them back towards the SUV.

"Dave, I want you and Reid to start on victimology. Garcia narrow down connections and overlaps." Hotch issued his orders as he started to walk away. He purposefully didn't give any direction to Erin, he knew from experience she would do her own thing anyway. Something also told him to leave her with David, he could handle her, perhaps too well sometimes.

"We've got everything set up over here." Robert spoke as he led the team through the building to their work space. For a small town PD there was plenty of hustle and bustle. One officer had been assigned solely to field concerns of the public and another one was single handedly controlling the local media. "Its getting pretty out of hand around here lately."

"Agent Jareau can help you out with the media, but until she get's back maybe I could help you there." Erin folded her arms and Robert nodded, signalling in the direction of the young female officer currently shouldering that particuler burden.

"Officer Hamilton is dealing with the local press."

"Hamilton?" Erin narrowed her eyes, Robert sighed and shook his head.

"I know I know! But she's a good kid Erin she's not like the others."

"Wow! A Hamilton on the right side of the law, this I gotta see."

Robert laughed at her words, the Hamilton family were well known in the community as long standing trouble makers, one of them had to break that cycle at some point. His smile though, didn't last long, the chief of police had just recoiled, suddenly looking like a small child caught doing something he shouldn't.

"I um, think you better handle something else first." Robert nodded in the direction of the main door. Erin, David, Reid and Garcia all followed his eyes.

"Aw damn it." Erin resisted the urge to stamp her foot as she spoke under her breath.

It didn't take a genius to work out the identity of the older woman standing a few feet away from them. She had a look on her face they'd all seen a thousand times before. Hell she even stood the same way as Erin, arms folded, one foot tapping impatiently as she raised one eyebrow.

"So it takes a serial killer to get my daughter to come home? Should've thought of that years ago!"

Erin rolled her eyes and sighed. "You shouldn't say things like that Mother we might hold you as a conspirator."

Erin's mother gave no reply, save a roll of the eyes as she walked towards the group, instead heading straight for David. "Well I recognise you from your books Agent Rossi. Sylvia Strauss."

David smiled graciously as he shook her hand. "Pleasure to meet you Ma'am. This is Dr Spencer Reid and our technical analyst Penelope Garcia."

"I thought Strauss was her married name?" Reid spoke under his breath to David as Penelope conversed with Mrs Strauss.

"No, she didn't change her name when she married, she felt it would diminish her reputation."

Reid nodded slowly at Dave's whispered words, before both of them rejoined the conversation.

"Well its very nice to meet you all. I wonder though if I may steal my daughter for just a few moments?"

"Mother, we really are very busy we need to get started!"

"Erin, five minutes is all I ask!"

"When we close this case you can have as much time as you like Mom but right now I'm too busy!"

"You're always too busy Erin!"

"Don't start this now Mother!" Erin straightened herself up. This was the same old argument, she was used to it. She wasn't however, used to having it in front of her colleagues.

"Agent Rossi, you can spare Erin for a few moments can't you?"

David looked from Erin to her mother, trying to weigh up which threat was more dangerous, instead though he decided to take the fun option.

"Of course we can! We're just getting started here she can take a few moments."

Sylvia Strauss gave the younger man a beaming smile. "Oh good! I'll see you outside dear."

Erin watched her mother walk towards the door before she turned back to David. "Oh gee thank you! You are going to regret that!"

David simply grinned at her, glancing after her as Erin marched after her mother, leaving the rest of them to simply stare.

"You are one brave guy!" Robert Hudson stepped beside the senior profiler and shook his head.

"Oh I can handle Erin Strauss."

"I don't doubt that, but put Erin and my Aunt Sylvia in the same equation, its a recipe for a volcanic eruption."

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_**Drop a review, let me know what you think! **_

_****coming up in part four...a case development and the introduction of another Strauss!****_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hola! Little bit late with this chapter, it kinda got a little bit out of control! The voices in my head just wouldn't quiet down! This wasn't originally how I wanted this part to play out, so the next part will be back on point, more case centred, but until we get there we're taking a brief pitstop! **_

_**I hope you enjoy and as ever, your reviews are both welcome and apreciated! **_

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David sat back in his chair, his eyes drifting to the window. He could see the two Strauss women practically circling each other, whatever they were discussing it did not look good.

Erin had that look on her face, the one that dared anybody to question her. Unfortunately for her, Sylvia Strauss very much dared to question her. Aside from himself he'd never seen anyone stand up to Erin before. It was, in truth, a little refreshing to see the section chief in a surbordinate role.

Up against her mother Erin was definately the passive participant. David smiled at the picture in front of him, or rather out of the window. Sylvia was a little shorter than her daughter, but her presence towered over her. Under the watchful glare of her mother Erin seemed to recoil. Not by much, it was a very subtle action. To any casual bystander it wouldn't be noticeable, they would simply see two very strong, opionated, independent women, talking amongst themselves.

David saw it though. Erin had started out all tall and...Strauss like...arms folded and the glare was in position. Slowly though that had faded. If he didn't know her better he'd think the Erin outside right now, was a shadow of the teenage girl she'd once been, getting railroaded by her mother for whatever rule she'd chosen to ignore this time.

His smile however did not last for very long, Erin caught him looking out of the corner of her eye. It sent him forward in his chair, his eyes darting back to the file in front of him as he reminded himself that they had a killer to catch.

* * *

Erin sighed, raising both hands to her forehead for a moment. "Alright fine Mother, you win! I will stop by this evening, provided there is no immediate work to be done on the case! I will have dinner with you and Daddy before I go back to Quantico, and I will catch up with Jonny and the boys too."

"That is all I ask Erin." Sylvia held up her hands in surrender. She was tired of fighting this same battle with her daughter every time they spoke. On request from her husband she had backed off lately but it wasn't in her nature to let things go.

Perhaps that was where Erin and her Mother were doomed to clash. They were both so alike. Before her retirement Sylvia too had thrown herself into her work, she'd been the classic workaholic. Of course she had viewed nursing as a vocation and had justified her long working hours by claiming it was for the common good. She was the classic Florence Nightingale personality, Erin even called her a martyr on more than one occassion.

Despite that though, Sylvia had always maintained a strong balance between home and work, she devoted just as much attention to her family as she did to her work. Her children were always first and foremost in her mind, she would drop everything if they asked it of her.

That was something Erin never seemed to get right. She spent too long devoting too much of herself to her work. Unintentionally her children seemed to slip back from her focus. It was a constant source of frustration and guilt on her part. She loved her children more than anything and she hadn't exactly been a bad mother, some aspects just needed more work than others. Erin Strauss never backed down from a challenge, her children included.

Looking back at her mother Erin narrowed her eyes. Sylvia was smiling at her with that look in her eyes. It was the all knowing look, as a teenager it often struck fear deep inside Erin and her brother, had them wondering just how much she really knew.

"What?"

"Nothing." Sylvia shrugged, lacing her fingers together in front of her. "How are you really, Erin?"

"I've already told you, I'm fine." Erin tried her best not to snap, it worked, thankfully. Her mother looked older than she remembered and it put Erin on edge. She didn't want to admit to herself or anyone else that her mother was an old woman. Which she was, Sylvia Strauss turned seventy not four months ago, but when you have a certain image of your mother in your mind it's often very hard to address the changes and vulnerabilities that come with age.

"I know you did, but I'm your Mother Erin, it's like a magical power I can see right through you. Is it the divorce? Are you coping alright?"

"Mother! I'm almost fifty for heavens sake, just because I divorce Micheal doesn't suddenly make me incapable of being an independent woman!"

"I know that." She was still smiling and it made Erin sigh, that smile was almost as bad as Erin's glare, trademark and effective. "Whether you're five or fifty you're still my daughter. Just tell me my grandchildren are ok?"

"They're fine Mom."

"I still don't understand why you surrendered full custody but ok."

Erin rolled her eyes, she knew that one was coming, though it wasn't as if she could just come out and tell her that it was down to her alcoholism. She'd die if she had to tell her parents.

"I didn't want to uproot them, they'd already been through enough."

"But you do see them regularly right?"

"Yes." Erin nodded, folding her arms. "I see them two evenings a week and every other weekend. Jess texts everyday and Daniel calls most evenings."

"What about Lauren?"

Erin sighed, Lauren was her oldest child, and the most tempremental, she was taking the adjustments slower than her brother and sister. "I talk to her on the phone occassionally, she's really busy getting ready for college in the fall."

Sylvia nodded slowly. She'd seen this situation so many times before in other families, not just through the hospital but through her volunteer work with the local community centre, it certainly kept her busy through retirement.

Sylvia Strauss was not the kind of woman to sit around knitting all day.

"Mother, I really have to get to work."

"Oh! Of course dear, you go right ahead. Give me a call if you need anything."

"I will Mom." Erin leant forward to kiss her mother's cheek.

Erin was only two steps away from her mother when Sylvia's smile turned into a smirk.

"What?"

"Oh well I was just thinking, that Agent Rossi is rather dreamy!"

"Dreamy? What are you fifteen?"

"I'm just saying, he's a handsome guy!"

Erin closed her eyes, she knew that look too. #42 in the Sylvia Strauss expression manual.

"No mother."

"No what?"

"Just no! We're here to work, I do not need you meddling in my relationship with David! A relationship that is strictly professional by the way, before you get any ideas."

"Alright butting out!" Sylvia retreated, beginning her walk away from the building. "Zipping my lip, not saying a word, keeping my mouth shut! Locked up throwing away the key!"

* * *

"Everything alright?" David didn't look up from the file as Erin dropped into a seat beside him.

"Of course why wouldn't it be?"

"No reason. Looked like a pretty intense conversation out there."

"That really isn't any of your concern David but since you ask, I repeat, everything is fine. Now what have we got?"

Reid cleared his throat, his launch into speech was just the distraction Erin needed.

"Well we've narrowed down a brief connection between the victims. Of course we've only got two to go on but so far we've concluded that that both victims were ambushed from the trails in the national forest. Both were avid runners and they often ran alone. Which tells us that the Unsub has previous knowledge of the victims or he watches them for some time before he abducts them. Also he's got to be very physically fit, the woods are dense and both girls were very good runners...so why couldn't they outright him? Also he's gotta be local."

"Sure, it takes years to familiarise yourself with those woods, you'd have to have a very vast knowledge of the area to know the back roads and trails." Erin narrowed her eyes and slipped on her glasses, her eyes scanning the victim notes in the file in front of her.

"Yes Ma'am. I'm hoping to narrow down a geographical comfort zone soon but I need more variables."

"Variables?"

"Victims...bodies." David glanced to Erin as her face fell for a moment. She got it back together just as the chief of police rejoined them.

"Well you've just got another one. State Police and park rangers began a full search yesterday morning, they've just found another body about two miles out of town."

"Give the co-ordinates to Garcia," Dave got to his feet along with Reid and Erin. "She'll have Hotch and the others meet us there."

Erin took a deep breath, glancing to her cousin as he remained stood beside her.

"So you do this all the time, Erin? Chase serial killers?"

"No, the team does, I'm just a bureaucrat remember. Usually I only go out in the field to conduct assessments." She managed a small smile.

"Does it get any easier?"

"Hell no."

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_**Drop a review if you have a minute, it seems to be taking forever to get all the ground work down, but there'll be a few twists and turns on the horizon! ;) **_


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